Objectives

1. Define the cardiovascular and respiratory system
2. Describe how the cardiorespiratory system works
3. Identify the benefits of cardiorespiratory fitness
4. What is the importance of this system?
5. Identify methods for assessing and improving the CR system

Terminology

• Cardiorespiratory system: The term used to describe the relationship between the cardiovascular system (heart and blood vessels) and respiratory system (lungs).
• Calorie: A term used to describe food energy. Scientifically, it is the amount of energy needed to raise one kilogram of water, 1 degree Celsius. More accurately, it is one kilocalorie.
• Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP): The basic unit of energy used by the cells.
• Aerobic energy system: The term used to describe the way cells produce ATP. In this case, the cells require oxygen to assist in ATP production.
• Mitochondria: The area (organelle) of the cell where ATP is produced.
• Creatine phosphate: a compound found in the cells and used by the immediate energy system that can be used to produce ATP.
• Non-oxidative energy system: a term used to describe the way cells produce ATP. In this case, cells do not require oxygen to produce ATP.
• Glucose: The simplest form of sugars found in the blood.
• Tidal volume: The amount of air measured during inspiration or expiration.
• Diffusion capacity: The amount of air that is transferred from the lungs to the blood.
• Arterial-vein difference (aVO2diff): The difference between the oxygen found in arterial blood and venous blood.
• Principle of Reversibility: The fitness principle describing how fitness is lost while detraining.
• Maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max): The maximum amount of oxygen the body can take in and utilize.
• Specificity: A fitness principle describing how fitness improvements or adaptations to exercise stress are specific to the type of training that is performed.
• Overload: The fitness principle describing how adaption to exercise stress is driven by progressively increasing the workload during training.
• Target Heart Rate (THR): A term describing heart rate zones that represent an intensity range—a low end heart rate and a high end rate—used as a guide for exercise intensity.
• Max heart rate (MHR): The maximum number of beats per minute the heart can contract.
• Resting Heart Rate (RHR): The minimum number of beats per minute the heart contracts.
• Heart Rate Reserve (HRR): The difference between the maximum heart rate and the resting heart rate. This term is also used to describe a method for calculating target heart rate.
• Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE): A self-assessment used during exercise used to estimate the intensity of the work being performed. The scale used, called the Borg Scale, ranges from 6 to 20.
• Talk-test: A self-assessment used during exercise to estimate the intensity of the work being performed. The assessment is based on the degree of breathlessness observed while attempting to talk during exercise.